THE SONGBIRD'S STING

4 stars out of 5

It's safe to say I cut my eyeteeth on westerns - whether through movies or books. Back in my growing-up years in the 1950s, Saturday matinees with my mother usually meant watching my heroes - Lash LaRue, Charles Starrett (the Durango Kid) and Hopalong Cassidy - on the big screen, followed by a brain-freeze chocolate malted at the town's drugstore on our walk home. As for books, I'll always remember the summer I vowed to read 100 of them, all from my father's rather vast collection. One of my favorites was a complete set of Zane Grey novels (and yes, I reached my goal, which also, BTW, included dad's other complete set of Perry Mason novels by Earle Stanley Gardner).

Over the years, though, my favorite cowboys (plus the wildly popular Roy and Gene) pretty much disappeared from the Silver Screen; likewise, my taste in books turned to titles popular in the '60s and '70s (how can I forget "Valley of the Dolls" and William Peter Blatty's "The Exorcist")? A job, a family and going back to college pretty much put the kabosh on movies and books for several years; but now that I'm mostly retired, books have returned to my life (movies, less so - if it's not a James Bond, I probably won't be watching it). My favorite book genre, by far, is mystery/thrillers; so when the author of this book offered me a pre-release copy for review, I was hesitant. But second then, memories of my youthful immersion in all things Wild West came flooding back and I said yes.

And I thoroughly enjoyed it - mostly because it's a good book, but also because of it evoked pleasant thoughts from those long-ago years. This is, for the record, the second in the author's Arizona series, so I'll assume more will be forthcoming. This one, though, stands alone well, and I did not read the first. The central character, professional opera singer Elizabeth Anne Graystone, is my kind of woman; Irish through and through, she doesn't take guff from anyone, no matter how much bigger or stronger they are than she is. 

As she's on her way to her next singing gig, the stagecoach in which she and a few others are riding gets held up by a gang led by a nasty chap named Louie Bowen. He decides Elizabeth will get them a substantial ransom from even more nasty chaps in Mexico, so they capture her and a couple of riding companions and set off in that direction. Right from the start, Elizabeth proves to be a hardy soul - far from the wimpy, weeping female her capturers expected. Of course, she doesn't want to die (or worse, be sold off down in Mexico), but most of all, she isn't about to lose the valuables hidden in her suitcase. 

As far as Elizabeth's captors are concerned, there's nothing standing between them and that payoff in Mexico except a lot of dust, cactus, and maybe an on-the-warpath Indian or two. But what they don't know is that Elizabeth really isn't alone; she's got Irish kinfolk who are more stubborn than she is, and when they learn she's been kidnapped, they don't take kindly to it. The chase is on, and the rest of the book lays it all out in detail with plenty of action right up to the end. My take on it? For those who enjoy a good old-fashioned western adventure, you won't go wrong by giving this one a shot.

The Songbird's Sting by L.J. Martin (Wolfpack Publishing, April 2021); 272 pp.

ROBERT B. PARKER'S BULL RIVER

4 stars out of 5

Despite being a huge fan of the late Robert B. Parker's work - I've read all the Spenser and Jesse Stone books - I've never read any of his series featuring Marshal Virgil Cole and Deputy Marshal Everett Hitch. When a friend happened to mention this one, the second written by actor, writer and producer Robert Knott after Parker's death (Ironhorse was his first) - I was surprised that the books even existed. But it didn't take me long to find a copy and give it a whirl.

Never having read any of Parker's Cole and Hitch novels, I can't say whether or not Knott does a good imitation. But knowing Parker's style, I'm betting they're pretty close. Set in the Old West, this one from the start reminded me of a cross between a Zane Grey character and Parker's Jesse Stone, with saddles and six-guns interspersed with "Nope," "Yup" and "Sure."

The book opens as the two relatively uneducated lawmen return a notorious outlaw to San Cristobal to stand trial. Before he can be arraigned, a bank robbery happens that requires investigation by the pair. The man who supposedly did the deed is a bank employee and town resident who is later found after being beaten almost to a pulp and his beautiful wife kidnapped. It's then discovered he's not who he's been claiming to be - and in fact, he's got ties to that outlaw they just brought in. What's more, the outlaw is the only one who knows who kidnapped the wife (who just happens to be the daughter of a St. Louis millionaire) and where Cole and Hitch need to go to track the culprit and his gang down.

I won't say this is anywhere near the most engrossing novel I've ever read, but if you like cowboys who speak mostly in monosyllables and lots of horsing around, it's pretty darned good reading. 

Robert B. Parker's Bull River by Robert Knott (Putnam Adult, January 2014); 353 pp.